Health briefs: Depression and infant sleep

Mothers with depression may behave in ways that disturb their infants' sleep, according to a new study by Pennsylvania State University.

The researchers found that mothers with more symptoms of depression and worries were more likely to pick up babies who were sleeping. Such women may seek emotional comfort by going to their infants during the night. Mothers who worry excessively about their infants' well-being might respond to any infant sound in the night and move their babies into their own beds to ease concerns about whether their infants are hungry, thirsty and comfortable.

"Sleep problems often endure beyond early childhood and can have a negative effect on various aspects of development," the study's lead author, Douglas Teti, noted.

Upside to tech multitasking?

Media multitasking -- the use of more than one type of media or technology at the same time -- may have some positive effects, a new study suggests.

Previous research has shown that media multitaskers -- those who simultaneously engage in, say, text messaging, Web surfing, emailing, computer games or social networking -- tend to have deficits in certain areas of mental function, such as task switching, selective attention and working memory.

But a new study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that those who multitask frequently appear to be better at integrating information from multiple senses -- vision and hearing in this case -- when asked to perform a specific task. "Media multitasking may not always be a bad thing," the researchers said.